Schools

Public schools are a unifying force in our society. They are open to all students regardless of race, ability or religion.

No students should feel excluded in their own school because of their beliefs, and no parent should have to worry that their children are being given religious instruction in a public school. It is also wrong for anyone’s tax dollars to be used to support religious education through private school vouchers.

Americans United fights to ensure that all public schools are inclusive and that taxpayer dollars are not diverted to private schools. We do this by opposing vouchers, school-sponsored prayer and religious instruction.

The West Virginia Senate is considering a bill that would allow public schools to offer classes that teach about the Bible. Often, these Bible classes resemble Sunday school lessons, rather than public school courses.

Advancing the misguided top priority set forth by President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the proposed federal budget would divert a billion dollars in desperately needed public funds to private, mostly religious schools.